The FBI, and state and local authorities on Monday continued to search for a missing Nelson County teenager as a suspect arrested over the weekend remained jailed without bond.
Nelson County Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin said Randy Allen Taylor was taken into custody Sunday in connection with the disappearance of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy.
Court records show Taylor, 48, of Lovingston, is charged with abduction by force, which is a felony. He is being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Officials are asking anyone that may have seen Taylor, or his truck pictured below, to call police immediately.
Murphy was last seen Aug. 3 by her family. Her car was found in the parking lot of a multiplex in Charlottesville three days later.
During a news conference at the Lovingston Fire Department, the FBI and local authorities said the investigation and search for Murphy continues. They did not take questions from the media.
"I want to assure her family and the Nelson County community that we will keep looking as long as it takes to find her,'' Martin said.
Jeff Mazanec, special agent in charge of the FBI's Richmond Division, said authorities continue to follow leads in the case to "find Alexis very soon.'' Mazanec also addressed speculation that the case may be connected to other similar disappearances or abductions in the region, saying officials are "certainly looking at all possibilities.''
In an article published last year, Taylor was linked to the disappearance of another Charlottesville teenager, last seen in September 2010. Taylor spoke out, defending himself and claiming police harassment.
Alexis' mother, Laura Murphy, issued a tearful plea, asking the community to let authorities know if they have any information about her daughter's whereabouts.
"I want her to come home because today would've been her first day of school,'' Murphy said. "I carried my youngest son to school this morning, but I didn't have my daughter to take.''
Media outlets report that authorities on Sunday used a laser scanning machine to map the parking lot at the Carmike Cinemas movie theater where Murphy's car was found. Investigators also continued to search a Lovingston neighborhood on Monday.
Anyone with information concerning the whereabouts of Murphy should contact the Nelson County Sheriff's Office at 434-263-7050.
